The court also upheld a June 2016 ruling that stripped the senior cleric of his Bahraini citizenship.

The cleric was stripped of his citizenship in June 2016 over accusations that he had used his position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence. The cleric was also handed a suspended one-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine.

Last May, the kingdom’s security forces carried out a bloody raid on his hometown of Diraz, killing five people, and placing Sheikh Qassim under house arrest.

During much of his ordeal, he has been deprived of adequate medical care, which led to numerous health complications.